UN Secretary General António Guterres sounded the alarm on Wednesday about the abuse of freedom of speech and expression to promote hate online, which he said is leading to a “rise in real-world violence” against vulnerable groups.
Talk about the International Day to Combat Hate SpeechGuterres warned that such speech was a “tool for division” and was leading the world down the path of dehumanization. Guterres rejected the idea that speaking out against hate speech violates the right to freedom of expression, adding:
In our digital age, hate speech is spreading faster than ever, amplified by unregulated platforms and amplified by artificial intelligence (AI)…
Too many algorithms reward outrage and division, promote lies for likes, and promote violence for views. Anonymity on the Internet also makes it more difficult to hold perpetrators accountable.
Kalliopi Mingeirou, Head of Ending Violence against Women at UN Women, highlighted this negative impact on women the dangerous combination of hate, technology and uncontrolled free speech. Mingeirou acknowledged that AI had not caused misogyny, saying that the “larger ecosystem of influencers, forums, social media content, podcasts, gaming spaces and even algorithmic content” had facilitated the easier and faster transmission of misogyny and increased hatred against women.
According to Mingeirou, “Perpetrators can now create and distribute deepfakes, sexualized synthetic images, impersonation content, and other forms of image-based abuse faster, cheaper, and with fewer technical skills.”
Concern over the rise of hate speech and its inevitable and unavoidable impact on freedom of expression is slowly becoming a hot topic of late. Earlier this month, the upper house of the Canadian Parliament rejected a suggestion Add “denialism in residential schools” as a criminal offense in the hate crimes bill. Although the proposal was defeated, opponents of the bill expressed concerns about the bill’s restrictions on freedom of expression. These concerns were repeated as Canada enacted its new hate crimes law excluding the offense of “residential school denial” the next day. While Guterres has raised concerns about abuse of freedom of expression, others have raised concerns about selective censorship, particularly in academic circles, which equally has the potential to marginalize vulnerable groups who are “silenced, excluded or told they don’t belong.” Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously criticized how such selective censorship in the name of “cultural sensitivity and political correctness” has resulted in the pleas and cases of grooming gang victims and whistleblowers being ignored by social workers, local politicians and even the police in the UK.
